Heavy cargo transporters, such as vehicle and equipment towing enterprises, use cargo carriers with large, substantially flat cargo carrier surfaces. Cargo must be secured to the carrier surface for loading, unloading, and transport. This is accomplished with tie-down anchors, such as d-rings, that are attached to and project above the carrier surface. Typically, the anchors are permanently attached to the carrier surface by welds or nut-and-bolt assemblies. This permanent attachment interferes with loading, unloading, and transport of cargo, particularly in heavy cargo transports where the anchors may project several inches above the carrier surface. It would be advantageous to provide a tie-down anchor that can be attached to the carrier surface only when needed, to prevent interferences with loading, unloading, and transport. Because such an anchor would only be used when needed, it would be further advantageous for the anchor to be fast and easy to install.
Solutions to this problem have been approached for light cargo transporters, such as pickup trucks. It is known to modify a pickup truck bed by drilling holes in it and mounting removable tie-down anchors in the new holes. This approach is not feasible for the transport of heavy cargo because the carrier surface is thicker and stronger, making drilling impractical. Additionally, the anchors that could be mounted in a drilled hole are not strong enough to restrain heavy cargo. Indeed, typical heavy cargo transporters have existing slots in the carrier surface for mounting other attachments, such as guard rails or strap hooks. It would be advantageous to have a removable anchor that can use these existing slots.
It would also be advantageous to provide such removable anchors on cargo surfaces for use with other tie-down apparatus. It would also be useful to provide removable anchors to facilitate guiding winch cables in various orientations off of the platform of a vehicle carrier, for example, such as by using snatch blocks connected to the winch cable and also attached to the anchors to provide pulling assistance.
Therefore, it is an object of this invention to provide an apparatus for securing cargo on a transportation surface, such as a trailer or vehicle carrier or wrecker. It is a further object that the apparatus be insertable and removable as needed. It is a further object that the apparatus be configured to use existing slots in the transportation surface. Another object of this invention is to provide a removable securing apparatus that is strong enough to retain heavy cargo. A further object is to provide a device for anchoring cargo tie-downs that is damage resistant and simple to install.
Accordingly, it would be advantageous to provide an apparatus and method which solves the above referenced problems while maintaining advantages of such known assemblies and methods.